LidlLidl Stiftung & Co. KG (German pronunciation: [ˈliːdl̩]; UK:
/ˈlɪdəl/ LID-əl), formerly Schwarz Unternehmenstreuhand KG, is a
German global discount supermarket chain, based in Neckarsulm,
Germany,[1] that operates over 10,000 stores across
EuropeEurope and USA.[2]
It belongs to Dieter Schwarz, who also owns the store chains
Handelshof and hypermarket Kaufland.
LidlLidl is the chief competitor of the similar German discount chain Aldi
in several markets, including USA.[3] There are
LidlLidl stores in every
member state of the European Union, except
LatviaLatvia and Estonia.

History[edit]
In 1930, Josef Schwarz became a partner in Südfrüchte Großhandel
LidlLidl & Co., a fruit wholesaler, and he developed the company into
a general food wholesaler. As a result of the war, the company was
destroyed in 1944, and a 10-year reconstruction period soon
started.[4]
In 1977, under his son Dieter Schwarz, the Schwarz-Gruppe began to
focus on discount markets, larger supermarkets, and cash and carry
wholesale markets. He did not want to use the name Schwarz-Markt
(Schwarzmarkt means "black market") and rather use the name of Josef
Schwarz's former business partner, A. Lidl, but legal reasons
prevented him from taking over the name for his discount stores. When
he discovered a newspaper article about the painter and retired
schoolteacher Ludwig Lidl, he bought the rights to the name from him
for 1,000 German marks.[5][6]
LidlLidl is part of the Schwarz Group, the fifth-largest retailer in the
world with sales of $82.4 billion (2011).[7]
The first
LidlLidl discount store was opened in 1973, copying the Aldi
concept.[4] Schwarz rigorously removed merchandise that did not sell
from the shelves, and cut costs by keeping the size of the retail
outlets as small as possible. By 1977, the
LidlLidl chain comprised 33
discount stores.
LidlLidl opened its first UK store in 1994 and grew rapidly during the
first decade of the 21st century. Since then,
LidlLidl has grown
consistently, and today has over 650 stores. While it is still a small
player in the United Kingdom, with a grocery market share of less than
5%, its importance, along with that of continental, no frills
competitor
AldiAldi is growing, with half of shoppers in the United
Kingdom visiting
AldiAldi or
LidlLidl over Christmas.[8]
Sven Seidel was appointed CEO of the company in March 2014, after the
previous CEO Karl-Heinz Holland stepped down.[9] Holland had served as
chief executive since 2008 but left due to undisclosed "unbridgeable"
differences over future strategy. Seidel stepped down from his
position in February 2017 after Manager Magazin reported he had fallen
out of favour with Klaus Gehrig, who has headed the Schwarz Group
since 2004. Seidel was succeeded as CEO by Dane Jesper Højer,
previously head of Lidl's international buying operation.[10]
In June 2015, the company announced it would establish a United States
headquarters in Arlington, Virginia.[11]
LidlLidl has a major distribution
center in Mebane, North Carolina. The first twenty stores in the
United StatesUnited States were opened in the summer of 2017, throughout Virginia,
North Carolina, and South Carolina, with a predicted total of one
hundred stores by the end of 2017.[12][3]
LidlLidl is focusing on
locations in East Coast states, between
PennsylvaniaPennsylvania and Georgia,[13]
and as far west as Ohio.[14][15]
Controversies[edit]

In 2008, German newspaper Stern uncovered
LidlLidl spying on its staff,
including registration of employees' toilet visits as well as personal
details regarding employees' love lives, personal finances, menstrual
cycles and so on.[16]
In 2008,
LidlLidl was forced to issue an official apology because a Lidl
store in
SwedenSweden deliberately poisoned homeless people by poisoning
food in trash containers.[17]
In 2016,
LidlLidl police headquarters case – an alleged covert attempt
to extort bribes from Lidl, became a massive scandal in Lithuania.
In 2016, poisonous xylene was discovered in a gravy sold by Lidl
UK.[18]
In 2017, all of Lithuania's major newspapers reported that Lidl
Lithuania, compared to other
LidlLidl markets, sets higher prices on
identical products despite lower expenses including rent, salaries,
etc.[19][20][21][22]
In 2017, Italian police arrested 15 people from 4 of Lidl's offices
during investigation into ties with Laudani crime family.[23]
In 2017 it was discovered that
LidlLidl removed crosses from pictures of
churches on the Greek island
SantoriniSantorini used on packaging for its
Eridanous line of products.
LidlLidl acknowledged it made a mistake and
promised to deal with the issue.[24][25][25][26]
In 2017,
LidlLidl was involved in another controversy related to crosses
on churches. Its branch in Camporosso, Italy, was using a picture of
the church of Dolceacqua, Italy, for promotional purposes. The cross
was removed from the picture of the church.[citation needed]

Other services[edit]
In October 2009,
LidlLidl Movies was launched in the United Kingdom,[27]
undercutting
TescoTesco DVD Rental, which had previously been the United
Kingdom's cheapest online rental service for DVDs. The service was
powered by OutNow DVD Rental. OutNow went into liquidation in October
2011, taking
LidlLidl Movies with it.[28]
In January 2012,
LidlLidl launched bakeries in their stores across Europe.
They consist of a small baking area with a number of ovens, together
with an area where bread and pastries, such as croissants, are
displayed for sale.
In August 2013,
LidlLidl UK also launched an online photo service, which
prints photos and photo gifts at discounted prices.[29]
Approach to retailing[edit]

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Like fellow German supermarket Aldi,
LidlLidl has a zero waste, no-frills,
pass the savings to the consumer approach of displaying most products
in their original delivery cartons, allowing the customers to take the
product directly from the carton. When the carton is empty, it is
simply replaced with a full one. Staffing is minimal.[30]
In contrast to Aldi, there are generally more branded products on
offer and while
LidlLidl imports many low-priced gourmet foods from
Europe, it also sources many local products from the country where the
store is located. Like Aldi,
LidlLidl has special weekly offers, and its
stock of non-food items often changes with time. In contrast to Aldi,
LidlLidl advertises extensively in its homeland of Germany.
The
LidlLidl operation in the
United KingdomUnited Kingdom took a different approach
than the head office, with focus on marketing and public relations,
and providing employee benefits not required by law, including paying
the independently verified living wage and offering a staff
discount.[citation needed]
Upmarket products were introduced, especially in the lead-up to
Christmas. This required significant investment in marketing to
produce dramatic sales growth but had an effect on Lidl’s logistical
operation and pressure on profits. Ronny Gottschlich, who ran the
store chain in the
United KingdomUnited Kingdom for the six years to 2016, was
responsible for this approach. This led to friction with head office,
due to the cost involved, and in September 2016, Gottschlich
unexpectedly left and was replaced by the Austrian sales and
operations director, German-national Christian Härtnagel.[31] Lidl
continued to have ambitious investment plans in the United Kingdom,
potentially ultimately doubling the number of stores to 1,500. In the
financial year of 2015,
LidlLidl Great Britain's revenue from its stores
of over 630 throughout Britain was £4.7 billion.
Reflective inquiry[edit]
Trade unions in
GermanyGermany and other countries have maintained their
position over time on
LidlLidl handling workers and Lidl's stance away
from
European directivesEuropean directives on working time, and other criticisms. These
viewpoints have been published in the Black Book on the Schwarz Retail
Company published in
GermanyGermany and now also available in English.[32]
The Times[33] notes that
LidlLidl managers work overtime hours and are
directed to sign out of the
Working Time Directive when starting with
the company, while
The GuardianThe Guardian reported other allegations in the
United KingdomUnited Kingdom and abroad. Similar to quality control cameras in many
US grocery markets, hidden cameras have been found in one store in
Wasbek, north Germany, to monitor its workforce and make notes on
employee behaviour, focusing on attempting to sack female workers who
might become pregnant or to force staff at warehouses to do
"piece-rate" work.[34]
In July 2003, a judge in Savona, Italy, sentenced
LidlLidl for opposition
to union policies, a crime in Italy.[35]
LidlLidl has been criticised in
both the
United KingdomUnited Kingdom and Ireland for not allowing workers to join
unions. This prompted a campaign by
Labour Youth which ultimately led
to former National Recruitment Officer and Acting Chairperson of the
organisation, Darren Bates, resigning due to a lack of support for
businesses which create jobs.
In November 2014,
LidlLidl UK staff were instructed not to speak any
language other than English, not even Welsh (a language used in
Wales), with Lidl's customers.
The Welsh Language SocietyThe Welsh Language Society (Cymdeithas
yr Iaith) said the policy was "appalling". Cymdeithas yr Iaith's
chairman, Jamie Bevan, said that "since the
Welsh languageWelsh language bill was
passed four years ago, it is illegal to stop staff from speaking to
customers in Welsh".[36]
Number of stores[edit]